HoLy UpDaTe.

I've been updating. Pics and such all the way back to the baby shower. More to come.

Week Eleven!!

I'm eleven weeks old!!

Snapshots of the Week (11)

How I sleep now.

"Mom, I wanna watch the Bears game."

"No, Mom. The game."

"Really?"

"Ahhh, football! Thanks, Mom."

Auntie DL came to visit!

Go Hawks!!

Kisses for Mikey.

Let's Get Personal.

I love volleyball. Everything about it. In fact, I was going through a little withdrawal during the last two months of my pregnancy (I played during the first seven:). Since having Michael, and after a few weeks of recuperation, I started giving personal lessons to a few girls from our Rockets club team. I do love these girls! Seeing them improve week to week is so worth the sweat! And, I get a work out in four times a week! Is it club season yet??

V and Hayseed between drills.

Yes, Football Season is Here!!

And, we're ready to cheer on our Hawkeyes and Bears!! On a daily basis I recite the rosters for both squads so MLB has a jump start on his first season. Little does our boy know that he will spend every fall Saturday and Sunday for the rest of his life tailgating and watching the pigskin get tossed around. I have to go, Mikey needs me to dial Ditka's number so they can discus the Bears' defense. He doesn't exactly have all of his fine motor skills down yet!

Week Ten!!

Ten Weeks Old!!

Snapshots of the Week (10)

"Rockin' my ADIDAS suit..."

Play mat time.

Me and Daddy.

"Mom, that's enough with the camera."

Happy Boy!

No so happy boy.

Our IOWA.

Michael and I went for a two hour walk today down our street. I wanted to share some pictures with you. We really do live in the best part of town. Scott Blvd. is incredibly lovely as you will see below. On our two hour walk we visited the Harvest Preservation site, The Wishing Rock and the oldest barn in all of Johnson County (which the owner of refuses to sell to developers biting at his ankles). We do love OUR IOWA!

The Harvest Preserve

And, the cows across the street.

The wishing rock at The Harvest Preserve.

Oldest Barn in Johnson County!

Snapshots of the Week (9)

"Hey, Mom..."

What we like to call Michael's coming to process...

Step 1: Sleep anywhere from ten minutes to four hours.

Step 2: Mommy gets me up to change my diaper. Let the stretching begin.

Step Three: Make sure I stretch my arms and legs really good.
Usually have to close one eye for this to happen properly.

Step 4: Repeat... Just in case I didn't get it the first time.

Step 5: Ok, I'm awake. Let's play!!

"Whatchyoudoin'?"

Week Nine!!

I'm nine weeks old!!

Our Saturday Morning Routine.

Now that Dennis has been spending most of his time at the car wash on the weekends Michael and I have fallen into a bit of a routine. Saturday mornings are our favorites. First the Farmers' Market and then a stroll downtown. Now that all the students are back it's a bit more crowded, but nevertheless still a wonderful time. I love the weather in Iowa City in the fall (an early fall, I know). The leaves are already changing colors on us. We picked up some heirloom tomatoes, listened to some kiddie music in the park and "split" an extra large chocolate chip cookie.

Heading off to the Farmers' Market.

Our favorite Saturday stop! The market.

On our way home we stopped by to see the progress on our soon to be church, St. Patrick's. It's being built just two blocks from our home. How convenient for us?? It may be the largest church I've ever seen. Wings and all sorts of things going on. It will be absolutely beautiful when finished. The original church was destroyed by the tornado that ripped through town the summer of 2006.

Our soon to be church! St. Pat's, originally destroyed by the tornado of '06!

Our Saturdays are now one of my favorite things. Who can blame me?? I have my boy, fresh produce and Iowa City in the fall.

Two Month Appointment

Mikey had his two month appointment today with Dr. James. On the to-do list... see how huge our boy is, give him the run over to make sure every little bit of him is functioning properly, and piss him off by stabbing his legs with three different vaccinations. First the good news...

Mikey is now...

• 24 inches long and in the 75th percentile (22 inches at birth)
• 15 lbs. 7 oz and in the 95th percentile (8 lbs. 12 oz at birth)
• with a pumpkin head that is 40.5 cm around (36 cm at birth)

First of all, I love our pediatrician. Dr. James is thorough and as nice as could be. As he was going over Mikey's growth chart he was happy with his progress. The minute he turned to his weight chart he was taken aback!! "Whoa, we have an offensive linebacker on our hands here!" is exactly what he said. I just smiled. He followed it up with, "Obviously, nutrition isn't an issue."

We went over the routine check list. Can hold head up on his own. Check. Is he vocal. Check. Still has some newborn reflexes. Check. Can follow objects with his eyes. Check. And, so on. Then came the moment of truth. Just as our sweet boy was drifting off for his afternoon nap the nurse walks in with three syringes and an oral vaccination. First, the oral. Just peachy. Then came the harsh reality of vaccinations. May I remind you that he had just drifted off. With a one, a two and a three our son was purple and hysterical from the two ladies stabbing his chunky little thighes with horrifically long syringes. Two Curious George Band-aids later we were on our way with two thumbs up from Dr. James.

Mikey came home and wasn't exactly happy for the next hour and a half. Nothing but crying. Thank you, Den, for going to my volleyball lesson. Then he was out. He slept from 7:45-6:15 this morning. What a sweet, dear boy. Today he seems to be back to his own ways. Giggles and smiles. Just counting down the days until vaccinations are a thing of the past and not part of the future.

How our little boy passed out from the trauma. Look at those Band-aids.

My Giant To-Do Lists... Literally!!

When you have so much to do, as we do here at the Breier residence, what better way to display it than on your living room wall on GIGANTIC Post-It notes as I have done. Not kidding... these are on my living room wall. One thing at a time.

Color coded and everything!!

Too Big for His Own Britches!!

I just wanted to note that my two month old son now wears 6-12 month-old clothing. Awesome.

To Eat or Not to Eat?!

appauling and tastes appauling but fills little bellies with delight!Our son has been a bit fussy lately. And by fussy I mean it seems that he's not happy unless he's in his bouncy seat, eating or we are playing with him. We were also experiencing a problem with him not being able to eat an entire bottle before falling asleep which meant he was taking shorter naps. Plus, this past week he went from sleeping through the night to going down at 10:00 or so and waking up again at 3:00 and then at 6:00. I believe this has something to do with the fact that I can't get him to eat maybe as much as he should before passing out for what used to be the entire night. Enter rice cereal. Now, I'm a researcher. I read up on everything. My question in the google search bar yesterday "When to give baby cereal?". I read all sorts of things, but I found a large community of moms who were in my same situation. Baby passes out before getting a full belly. Now, Mikey goes in to see his pediatrician on the 18th, so I realize that I may have jumped the gun here a little bit. but yesterday I made the executive decision to give this a whirl. I sprinted into our local Target, made a bee line for the baby food aisle and quickly scooped up an oversized box of Gerber Rice!! Fast forward to Mikey's bedtime. We took a bath, still his favorite thing. We read a few books. Then my son took down six hard ounces of rice infused breast milk and VOILA! He slept from 8:45 p.m. until 5:45 a.m. this morning!! That is nine blissful hours of beauty sleep for our little guy. I jumped out of bed at 5:45, turned to the alarm clock and giggled! Yes. Now this morning Mikey had a normal bottle when he woke up, I just gave him a bottle with some rice in it before his morning nap and he is sound asleep having ate the entire bottle before drifting off. Love it. Thank you, Gerber, for making a product that looks and tastes appauling to adults but is an infant belly filling delight.

I love you rice cereal. I love you.

I'm Two Months Old!! (Exclusively From MLB)

Holy cow, how time flies! I can't believe I'm two months old already. Mommy says I'm the size of a six month old and have the strength of one, too. Here's what I've been up to...

• Spent my first trip away from Mommy and Daddy. I spent four days with Gramma and Boompa, loads of fun it was!
• I laugh now. Mommy is trying to catch this on tape to share. I'm not cooperating very well.
• I'm ticklish on my thighs and under my arms. This is how my parents discovered my laughing ability.
• I'm sleeping through the night like a big boy. Some nights I sleep 8-9 hours, but last night I slept for 11! Hey, I work very hard during the day. I need my rest.
• I can hold my head up for as long as I want now. I can even turn it side to side with no problem. GodMom Keri discovered this with kisses.
• I can hold long conversations with anyone willing to participate. My end consists of coos and aahhhs and smiles, but I think I'm getting the point across.
• I now wear six month old clothing. That's right folks, I'm huge!!
• The hair on the top of my head has finally filled in. Looks to be blonde and red! Oh, and it's super curly!
• Dear Infantino Toy Company, I love you! You make the coolest stuff! I can't get enough of it.
• I take a few naps during the day. A short cat nap after my first bottle of the day and then I take a long mid-day nap (four hours or so), then another cat nap in the evening before bed time at 9:30.
• When I'm a little upset the only way Daddy can get me to calm down is to get me naked. I love being naked. I think it's the freedom I like.
• I eat cereal in two of my bottles during the day now. I really, really enjoy that stuff. It fills my belly and makes me all warm inside.
• "If You're Happy and You Know It" is my favorite song. I also enjoy "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "Patty Cake" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Actually I enjoy anything that has to do with clapping my hands or feet together. In fact, Mommy is working so hard on this high five thing. That's so much fun, too!
• I wear a size 3 diaper now. So much for the little ones.
• My bath time is still my favorite time. Now I can hold a few of my cool toys while I'm getting washed up!
• That reminds me, I can hold on to a few of my toys now. It's so crazy, I shake 'em and they make the neatest sounds. I get so excited I start flapping my arms as fast as I can like I'm gonna fly. I never do though.
• I love being read to. Mommy and I read books every day. I especially love Dr. Seuss. Mommy reads them so fast and I think it's funny.
• I really, really love being outside. There's something about the fresh air!
• Daddy and I have been watching the Sox a lot lately. Mommy refuses to watch the Cubbies because she says she can't take it any more. Daddy just keeps saying Detroit lost today. Don't know, don't necessarily care.
• I understand football season is upon us. I'm currently practicing up on all things Chicago Bears. I remember there's something about the T formation and me being born in the year of Jay Cutler. Don't ask me.
• I had the chance to spend lots of time with my aunties and uncles. Auntie Gabby, Auntie Meg, Uncle Michael and Auntie Laura each spent some alone time with me this month. It was awesome. I love you guys!!
• I'm lost without my bouncey seat. Period.

Mommy asked me to remind everyone to be patient. The Apple is still rotten and she is working very hard to get some new pictures up of me. So, keep your eyes open for lots and lots of new snapshots of who else, ME!!

Love and Pampers,

MLB

Our Photogenic Boy.

Michael was six days old when I took him for his photoshoot with FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY in the Coralridge Mall. The special occassion?? Dennis' first Father's Day was a little over a week after our boy was born and we needed to surprise Daddy. We aimed for a baseball themed session, Sox hat and all. I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. We were booked for a thirty minute set, however, they fell in love with the little guy that we spent two hours there in the morning and then they asked us to return in the afternoon for a few more shots. Four hours of pictures, two golden showers and two naked poops later we had these amazing photos.

Snapshots of the Week (8)

Week Eight!!

I'm eight weeks old!!

You Can Call Me City Counselman Don Haskins.

As any new parents do, we have been trying to find the perfect nickname for Michael. Everyone seems to call him something different since he's the third Michael in the family. Here are mine and Dennis' top choices...

Kim: Mick and Squirt (like the little turtle from Finding Nemo)

Den: City Counselman Don Haskins (Dennis says because our son is a little overweight, he takes himself too seriously, and if he could buy his own suit it would be tweed)

Joint: Schnoogums Boogums! (Just because we can)

Of course, Mikey doesn't have an opinion yet. All I know is that when Dennis is having a conversation with him on whether or not Michael is going to sign off on Proposition 965 he smiles! Leave it to Dennis to come up with something absolutely ridiculous, and at the same time priceless!!